618 11 Discourse-functional particles and topicalization(698) a. i-ttds Yds
3MaSgS-sleep.(Vds).Reslt only
'He just sleeps.'b. l-kfa-\0-hi saendt-aet "t-s-mad ras
3MaSgS-give.PerfP-\lSgDat two-Fe Fe-Pl-hundred only
'He gave me a mere 200 (riyals).'YQS after one clause, followed closely by another clause, can indicate
temporal proximity of the two events (§13.1.1.4).
The alternative construction involves a negated clause, followed by an
add-on phrase (small clause) with ar 'except' and the highlighted constituent.
(For a version with ssel instead of ar, see §11.3.2, below.) This ar is a particle
rather than a true preposition and does not induce Prefix Reduction on a
following noun.
(699) a. war l-tatt ar 1-s-an
Neg 3MaSgS-eat.LoImpfN except Pl-meat-MaPl
'He eats only (=nothing but) meat.'
(lit. "He doesn't eat except meat.")
b. waer-\teen i-wet
Neg-\3MaP10 3MasSgS-hit.PerfN
ar [iy-aen η "ae-janna]
except [one-MaSg Poss Sg-rain]
'Only one rain has struck them.'
(= 'They've only had one rainstorm')This 'not ... except ...' construction can be applied to verbs (or VP's)
(700).
(700) a.
b.waer-\t i-sla
Neg-\3MaSgO 3MaSgS-occupy.PerfP
ar t-e-taete
except Fe-Sg-eat.VblN
'Nothing occupies him except eating.' (= 'He does nothing but
eat.')kasw-aen-ed waer t-sssen-asm
you-MaPl ' Neg 2S-know.PerfN-2MaPlS
ar [ad tdttae-m ras]
except [Fut eat.LoImpfP-2MaPlS only]
'You-MaPl, you don't know (anything) except you just eat.'